1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for pollination, and more specifically to systems and methods for automated pollination. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for automated pollination including vision systems.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Approximately one-third of all food is grown in crops that require insect pollination. Most crops grown for their fruits (including vegetables such as squash, cucumber, tomato and eggplant), nuts, seeds, fiber (such as cotton), and hay (alfalfa grown to feed livestock), require pollination by insects. Pollinating insects also play a critical role in maintaining natural plant communities and ensuring production of seeds in most flowering plants. Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male parts of a flower to the female parts of a flower of the same species, which results in fertilization of plant ovaries and the production of seeds. The main insect pollinators, by far, are bees, and while European honey bees (Apis mellifera) are the best known and widely managed pollinators, there are also hundreds of other species of bees, mostly solitary ground nesting species, that contribute some level of pollination services to crops and are very important in natural plant communities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 80 percent of insect crop pollination is accomplished by honeybees.
Substantially all of this pollination needs is currently fulfilled by putting European honey bees in fields at the appropriate time for pollination. Pollination dependent on honey bees however is risky, expensive and inefficient. Bees are continuously at risk due to Colony Collapse Disorder, mites, disease, and many other catastrophic risks which are amplified by climate change. Bees are also expensive and are often the largest input cost in a crop, often higher than the cost of renting land and of irrigation. Bees can cost over $500 per acre for a one month rental. Bees also are inefficient pollinators. They pollinate by happenstance of carrying pollen on their feet which about ⅓ of the time makes contact with a flower's stigma to pollinate. Also, insect pollination requires farmers to dedicate up to half of a field to low production or non-producing pollinating varieties so that bees can easily move from the pollinator plant to the primary food crop plant without traveling too far. Additionally, bees only operate during the day when weather conditions are suitable and often crops do not pollinate because optimal weather conditions are not present.
Supplemental Mass Pollination (SMP) is the broadcast application of pollen to female flowers that are not isolated from airborne pollen. Methods include blowing pollen towards the female flowers. Devices used for SMP may include dusters, compressed-air sprayers, and motorized dusters operated from the ground or from a plane. SMP may also include electrostatic charging of the pollen grains prior to application of the pollen.